PGA Championship 2011: 5 Reasons Rory McIlroy Will Outshine Tiger Woods

With Tiger Woods back in media discussions, fans are interested to see how he performs at his first major and second tournament back from a several month hiatus.

Another golfer to talk about though, is the young Rory McIlroy, who is projected to be maybe even better than Tiger Woods in the future. But, that is a long time from now and he must prove it first.

With that in mind, let's review why Rory will outshine Tiger at the PGA Championship next week.

WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Results

The best way to determine how well players are striking the ball is to look at their most current results.

Rory finished the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tied for sixth place with a score of 10-under-par. Meanwhile, the winner, Adam Scott, finished with 17-under-par and the next best contenders went 13-under.

Not only did Rory stay consistent and even pick his performance up after the first day of play, but he was not far behind the runner-ups.

Tiger's results in his first tournament back were less impressive—as predicted they would be. Woods finished T37, one stroke over-par. He was 11 shots back from McIlroy and 18 from the winner. This tournament did not bode well for people's expectations of him in the next major.

Rory Outshined Tiger at Last Year's PGA Championship

At this event last year, Tiger finished tied for 28th place.

Rory tied for third.

Whoever will win this tournament will need to know the course well, how far to hit the ball on certain shots and which shots to play—which brings me to my next point...

Tiger's Personal Life and Lack of Play

The American's self-indulgent ways proved to be the first reason for his short departure from the game. Then, he developed some injuries on his lower body for coming back out to compete. He hasn't been restored to his old golfing ways since his relationship scandal and subsequent divorce.

On the first day at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational event he claimed that he wasn't feeling his range or the clubs well quite yet.

As the tournament progressed, he also claimed to have felt better and said he was hitting the ball the way he wanted to. Unfortunately, the results just weren't there on paper. Tiger seems to be saying positive things about himself in the hope that the media gets off his back.

McIlroy Has Been a Faster Starter Than Woods

Rory has been relentless at the beginnings of tournaments, typically starting as the leader in many of them even if he loses in the long run.

Tiger has been struggling to land himself atop the leader boards and although he makes last day adjustments to come back, it isn't easy to do so when trailing nearly double digits on strokes.

The Amazing Rory Must Prove He Can Win Two Majors

Rory has to be hungry for another major and he must be incredibly relieved that the Atlanta Athletic Club is not a links golf course. He is used to the conditions of this course and winning two majors in one year would be remarkable for his career.

Of course, no winner is ever guaranteed in golf until the event is over. Still, Rory can at least prove that he is better than Tiger.